Annals of Emergency Medicine
Volume 52, Issue 5 , Pages 525-528 , November 2008

A Prevalence Study of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Colonization in Emergency Department Health Care Workers

Presented at the American Academy of Emergency Medicine Scientific Assembly, March 2007, Las Vegas, NV.

  • April Bisaga, DO

      Affiliations

    • Advocate Christ Medical Center, Department of Emergency Medicine, Oak Lawn, IL
    • ,
  • Katherine Paquette, MD

      Affiliations

    • Advocate Christ Medical Center, Department of Emergency Medicine, Oak Lawn, IL
    • ,
  • Linda Sabatini, PhD, HCLD

      Affiliations

    • ACL Illinois Central Laboratory, Department of Molecular Pathology, Rosemont, IL
    • ,
  • Elise O. Lovell, MD

      Affiliations

    • Advocate Christ Medical Center, Department of Emergency Medicine, Oak Lawn, IL
    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress for correspondence: Elise O. Lovell, MD, Department of Emergency Medicine, Room 185-W, Advocate Christ Medical Center, 440 West 95th Street, Oak Lawn, IL 60453; 708-684-5375, fax 708-684-1028

Received 13 December 2007 ,Revised 11 March 2008 ,Accepted 21 March 2008.

References 

  1. Moran GJ, Krishnadasan A, Gorwitz RJ, et al. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus infections among patients in the emergency department. N Engl J Med. 2006;355:666–674
  2. Kuehnert MJ, Kruszon-Moran D, Hill HA, et al. Prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization in the United States, 2001-2002. J Infect Dis. 2006;193:172–179
  3. Wang JT, Lin SF, Chiu HL, et al. Molecular epidemiology and control of nosocomial methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection in a teaching hospital. J Formos Med Assoc. 2004;103:32–36
  4. Hern G, Singh A, Frazee B. Low rate of MRSA colonization among residents. Acad Emerg Med. 2007;14(5 suppl 1):S46–S49
  5. Suffoletto B, Cannon E, Ilkhanipour K, et al. The local prevalence of nasal colonization of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in emergency department personnel. Acad Emerg Med. 2007;14(5 suppl 1):S45-a
  6. Muder RR, Brennen C, Goetz AM. Infection with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among hospital employees. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 1993;14:576–578
  7. Vonberg RP, Stamm-Balderjahn S, Hansen S, et al. How often do asymptomatic healthcare workers cause methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus outbreaks? (A systematic evaluation). Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2006;27:1123–1127
  8. Eveillard M, Martin Y, Hidri N, et al. Carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among hospital employees: prevalence, duration, and transmission to households. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2004;25:114–120
  9. van Hal SJ, Stark D, Lockwood B, et al. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) detection: comparison of two molecular methods (IDI-MRSA PCR assay and GenoType MRSA Direct PCR assay) with three selective MRSA agars (MRSA ID, MRSASelect, and CHROMagar MRSA) for use with infection-control swabs. J Clin Microbiol. 2007;45:2486–2490
  10. Kluytmans J, van Belkum A, Verbrugh H. Nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus: epidemiology, underlying mechanisms, and associated risks. Clin Microbiol Rev. 1997;10:505–520
  11. Cookson BD. The emergence of mupirocin resistance: a challenge to infection control and antibiotic prescribing practice. J Antimicrob Chemother. 1998;41:11–18
  12. Jenner EA, Fletcher BC, Watson P, et al. Discrepancy between self-reported and observed hand hygiene behaviour in healthcare professionals. J Hosp Infect. 2006;63:418–422

 Supervising editor: David A. Talan, MD

 Author contributions: AB and EOL created the hypothesis, designed the study, analyzed the data, and had main responsibility for interpreting the results and writing the article. AB, KP, and EOL performed data collection. LS assisted with background information, interpreting the results, and editing the article. EL takes responsibility for the paper as a whole.

 Funding and support: By Annals policy, all authors are required to disclose any and all commercial, financial, and other relationships in any way related to the subject of this article, that might create any potential conflict of interest. See the Manuscript Submission Agreement in this issue for examples of specific conflicts covered by this statement. Funding was provided by the Advocate Christ Emergency Department Research Fund, Cepheid, and ACL Laboratory in Rosemont, IL.

 Publication dates: Available online April 24, 2008.

 Reprints not available from the authors.

PII: S0196-0644(08)00611-2

doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2008.03.019

Annals of Emergency Medicine
Volume 52, Issue 5 , Pages 525-528 , November 2008

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